EDMONTON – With Grey Cup Week beginning in Vancouver, fans of the Green and Gold will have at least one thing to look forward to.
Fresh off one of the greatest rookie seasons by a defender in league history, linebacker Nick Anderson looks to bring home some hardware at Thursday’s CFL Awards. The Tulane product is the West Division nominee for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie, and by all accounts, it should be his award to lose.
Anderson looks to be a future corner stone of the Elks defence and is coming off a debut season for the ages. The 24-year-old was recently named to the All-CFL team as the best player in his position — the first Elks rookie to achieve the feat since Derel Walker accomplished the same in 2015. Anderson’s 111 defensive tackles were tied for the most in Canadian Football with teammate Nyles Morgan and were the second most by a rookie in the history of the league.
In his path is Hamilton Tiger-cats rookie wideout Shemar Bridges, who hauled in 83 receptions for 933 yards and four touchdowns in a solid debut campaign. Good number by the rookie, but roughly in line with Winnipeg’s Ontaria Wilson — who caught 71 passes for 1,026 and three touchdowns — who Anderson already beat out for the West Division Rookie nod. Good first year wideouts are a common occurrence in the Canadian Football League, with the Blue Bombers Dalton Schoen recently capturing the 2022 M.O.R. honours off the back of a 1,441 yard and 16 touchdown performance.
It is rare to see a CFL rookie lead the league in tackles, and because of Anderson’s sensational season, he should become the EE’s fifth Most Outstanding Rookie. The linebacker would join a pretty incredible crop of first-year EE stars, featuring a Canadian Football Hall of Famer and 12 Divisional All-Star nods. The four previous winners are:
Derel Walker – 2015
The Double E’s most recent Most Outstanding Rookie winner exploded onto the scene in 2015. After starting the season on the team’s practice roster, Walker was promoted to the active roster following an injury to star wideout Adarius Bowman and was simply undeniable from then on. In his first game, the Texas native caught 10 passes for 125 yards and he proceeded to follow it up with a 14 catch, 183-yard performance. His 14 receptions still hold up as the second most by a Green and Gold receiver in a single game in franchise history.
Walker finished the season with 89 receptions, 1,110 receiving yards, and six touchdowns in only 12 regular season games – his 89 receptions setting a franchise rookie record. The Most Outstanding Rookie honours wasn’t the only hardware Walker went home with in 2015 as he would end up being a key cog in Edmonton’s playoff run and inevitable victory in the 103rd Grey Cup. Walker currently ranks 10th all-time in franchise receiving yards with 5,613 career yards.
Dexter McCoil – 2014
McCoil was the first of back-to-back CFL Most Outstanding Rookies brought in by then EE General Manager Ed Hervey. The linebacker was signed out of the Arena league while playing for the Los Angeles KISS, a team affiliated with the iconic rock band from the 1970s and 1980s.
McCoil’s impact as the weakside linebacker playing alongside franchise stalwart J.C. Sherritt was immediate. The converted safety tied for the CFL lead in interceptions with six, returning two of them for touchdowns, while adding four sacks and 77 total tackles en route to his top-rookie honours. The Tulsa product followed up the dynamic season with a solid 84 tackle, three interception, and two sack season before departing for the National Football League for several years.
Shalon Baker – 1995
Baker was very much a one-season wonder in the Canadian Football League, but it was a heck of a rookie campaign. The 5-foot-7 wideout from Montana University emerged as quite the weapon for then EE quarterback Kerwin Bell. In Baker’s Most Outstanding Rookie season, the diminutive pass catcher hauled in a 79 passes for a franchise rookie record 1,156 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
He would split his final two Canadian Football League seasons between the Esks, B.C. Lions, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers – recording only 54 more catches for 619 and four touchdowns up North. Baker returned to the United States and embarked on a successful seven-year career with the San Jose SabreCats of the Arena Football League.
Brian Kelly – 1979
Edmonton’s first ever Most Outstanding Rookie winner remains their best. Kelly arrived early in the Esks five-in-a-row Grey Cup run from after a successful college career at Washington State. His impact on the Double E was immediate, as was his connection with franchise legend Warren Moon.
Kelly caught 61 passes for 1,098 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie, setting the foundation of what would be a hall of fame career. He holds nearly every major Double E career receiving record including most receptions (575), most receiving yards (11,169), and receiving touchdowns (97). In all, the Green and Gold legend wracked up six 1,000 yard receiving seasons to go with his five Grey Cup championships.